SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
Our scholarship winners are exceptional individuals whose applications stood out for their determination and resilience.
Read below to learn more about our recipients.
Read below to learn more about our recipients.
$1000 Scholarship Recipient
|
Raneem FarwanRaneem is a refugee from Syria who was forced to leave her country at 7 years old. Her story shows her resilience and perseverance towards her dream of education in America. From not being allowed to go to school in Jordan to finally being able to pursue her college degree at Meredith College, Raneem's story shows immense determination.
|
Raneem's Story
"What are some challenges you have faced, and how have you overcome them?"
I am not a typical American teenager. I came from a place where kids lived by themselves without relatives or parents that had died in the war or just disappeared. Food, water, and electricity, things most consider to be necessities, were nowhere to be found. It was easy to live without all these things compared to the difficulty I was forced to accept when my school was destroyed in front of my eyes, or when I witnessed people bleeding and dying. The sounds I heard were the sounds of children without families crying alone, women screaming because they had lost their kids in war, the bombs, the gunshots. This was to live in Syria. As a kid who simply dreamed of attending school with friends and leading a normal life, it was crushing for me to leave my homeland, my friends, and extended family behind me, but along with my parents, brother, and sisters, I left my country at 7 years old. We traveled from Syria to a Jordan refugee camp on foot over the course of 3 days. We walked at night to evade Bashar Alsaad's soldiers. Landmines and bombs were concealed beneath the ground in some places.I was so afraid that the Syrian regime would try to kill or burn us at any time. We prayed, and we hoped. My expectant mother worried me as she walked the miles across those bomb fields, carrying my brother in her belly, my dad carrying my sister and me. As we approached the camp, we realized that Bashar ALasad soldiers had seen us. They began shooting and taking down families, and I remember my mother crying, saying "Run, run and don't stop!" until we arrived at the Jordan camp.
I spent around two months there with my family. In the camp, we conquered another war, that of starvation and frozen death. When it began snowing in the camp I began playing in the snow with my brothers and sisters. We frequently broke down in tears when it snowed or rained in the camp because it brought back memories of the war we had fled. I wasn't ready for another war in the camp, the facing of this winter war. Whenever my mom would say “Everything will be fine,” it became worse.
We finally were able to travel to live in Jordan City, and I thought I could go to school again. How could I know that on my first day of school, bursting with hope, I would face such shame? It was difficult to attend school in Jordan for Syrian students because the Jordanian government had forbidden Syrian refugees from attending their schools. I remember the day when all the teachers told me I could not be at this school. “You are a Syrian refugee”. When I heard these two words, I felt that I had done something bad, that I was different, and didn’t belong. Mistakes led to teachers slapping me and telling me to go back to Syria. But what Syria? It was not my Syria anymore.
Life became even harder as my dad couldn’t find work due to his age and Syrian heritage. In that same time, my grandmother, my angel, everything to me, died. My father began asking people for odd jobs and seeking the chance for us to come to America. And because of my dad's persistence, now we are here. We were overjoyed to finally come to the United States. I am free, I attend school, and we have our own home. As a child, I dreamed of becoming a teacher, a goal I still hold. Bashar Al-Assad had taken our country, but he would not take our dreams. He will not take my dream.
I am not a typical American teenager. I came from a place where kids lived by themselves without relatives or parents that had died in the war or just disappeared. Food, water, and electricity, things most consider to be necessities, were nowhere to be found. It was easy to live without all these things compared to the difficulty I was forced to accept when my school was destroyed in front of my eyes, or when I witnessed people bleeding and dying. The sounds I heard were the sounds of children without families crying alone, women screaming because they had lost their kids in war, the bombs, the gunshots. This was to live in Syria. As a kid who simply dreamed of attending school with friends and leading a normal life, it was crushing for me to leave my homeland, my friends, and extended family behind me, but along with my parents, brother, and sisters, I left my country at 7 years old. We traveled from Syria to a Jordan refugee camp on foot over the course of 3 days. We walked at night to evade Bashar Alsaad's soldiers. Landmines and bombs were concealed beneath the ground in some places.I was so afraid that the Syrian regime would try to kill or burn us at any time. We prayed, and we hoped. My expectant mother worried me as she walked the miles across those bomb fields, carrying my brother in her belly, my dad carrying my sister and me. As we approached the camp, we realized that Bashar ALasad soldiers had seen us. They began shooting and taking down families, and I remember my mother crying, saying "Run, run and don't stop!" until we arrived at the Jordan camp.
I spent around two months there with my family. In the camp, we conquered another war, that of starvation and frozen death. When it began snowing in the camp I began playing in the snow with my brothers and sisters. We frequently broke down in tears when it snowed or rained in the camp because it brought back memories of the war we had fled. I wasn't ready for another war in the camp, the facing of this winter war. Whenever my mom would say “Everything will be fine,” it became worse.
We finally were able to travel to live in Jordan City, and I thought I could go to school again. How could I know that on my first day of school, bursting with hope, I would face such shame? It was difficult to attend school in Jordan for Syrian students because the Jordanian government had forbidden Syrian refugees from attending their schools. I remember the day when all the teachers told me I could not be at this school. “You are a Syrian refugee”. When I heard these two words, I felt that I had done something bad, that I was different, and didn’t belong. Mistakes led to teachers slapping me and telling me to go back to Syria. But what Syria? It was not my Syria anymore.
Life became even harder as my dad couldn’t find work due to his age and Syrian heritage. In that same time, my grandmother, my angel, everything to me, died. My father began asking people for odd jobs and seeking the chance for us to come to America. And because of my dad's persistence, now we are here. We were overjoyed to finally come to the United States. I am free, I attend school, and we have our own home. As a child, I dreamed of becoming a teacher, a goal I still hold. Bashar Al-Assad had taken our country, but he would not take our dreams. He will not take my dream.
$1000 Scholarship Recipient
|
Riziki JacqueRiziki is a refugee from Tanzania who came to America in August of 2018. Her story has shown incredible strength and determination in pursuing her education despite the challenges she has faced such as the language barrier. She has the dream of pursuing a medical career and possibly becoming a doctor.
|
Riziki's Story
"What are some challenges you have faced, and how have you overcome them?"
As a refugee from Tanzania, I faced many challenges when I came to America. I came here at the end of August 2018, when I did not know how to speak English. People laughed at me when I tried to talk, but that did not stop me from learning. My first middle school English teacher once told me that mistakes are signs of learning; without mistakes, I cannot learn because nobody is born perfect. I was determined to focus on knowing English and be able to speak, listen, read, write, and learn in school quickly. I started using Google Translator to translate English into Swahili as a tool to understand what was being said by other people. I read English books and watched movies in English. I believe I have been successful in making this transition of language learning by pushing myself into studying, and asking questions even when I didn’t want to because I knew that was the only way I could understand and know what to do. I have always planned to pursue a higher level of education which would lead me to reach my goals.
The language was the first thing that I wanted to be good at, so I did everything that I could, to understand and speak English. I truly believe that knowing English is the first step toward reaching my goals. Over the past few years, I kept learning and getting better. Even though I know there are still many things to learn, I know where I stand in the English language is so much better than how I used to be. Speaking both Swahili and English will be essential skills that will help me reach my future goal of having a medical career and possibly becoming a doctor.
I have always lived and am still living in a culture where many people believe only men can make it in life. A huge number of people in my culture think women’s job is only to get married, have children, and raise a family under the supervision of a man. A belief that a woman cannot succeed without a man. Back in 2018, a few months before I came to the United States, one of my male teachers in Africa said “ You’re going to the U.S. thinking that you have found a treasure and will succeed? But listen, you will not even get a diploma because you are going to get married before you do so.” His words made me very upset, so I told him if this life I’m going to live is his then it will be as he says. I have worked hard in school since I got here, making sure that I learn and do well in school as well as passing all my classes. Now there are about 2.5 months until I finish high school. I will graduate from Sanderson high school and go to college for higher education, where that teacher will be proven wrong and where I will be able to fulfill my dreams.
As a refugee from Tanzania, I faced many challenges when I came to America. I came here at the end of August 2018, when I did not know how to speak English. People laughed at me when I tried to talk, but that did not stop me from learning. My first middle school English teacher once told me that mistakes are signs of learning; without mistakes, I cannot learn because nobody is born perfect. I was determined to focus on knowing English and be able to speak, listen, read, write, and learn in school quickly. I started using Google Translator to translate English into Swahili as a tool to understand what was being said by other people. I read English books and watched movies in English. I believe I have been successful in making this transition of language learning by pushing myself into studying, and asking questions even when I didn’t want to because I knew that was the only way I could understand and know what to do. I have always planned to pursue a higher level of education which would lead me to reach my goals.
The language was the first thing that I wanted to be good at, so I did everything that I could, to understand and speak English. I truly believe that knowing English is the first step toward reaching my goals. Over the past few years, I kept learning and getting better. Even though I know there are still many things to learn, I know where I stand in the English language is so much better than how I used to be. Speaking both Swahili and English will be essential skills that will help me reach my future goal of having a medical career and possibly becoming a doctor.
I have always lived and am still living in a culture where many people believe only men can make it in life. A huge number of people in my culture think women’s job is only to get married, have children, and raise a family under the supervision of a man. A belief that a woman cannot succeed without a man. Back in 2018, a few months before I came to the United States, one of my male teachers in Africa said “ You’re going to the U.S. thinking that you have found a treasure and will succeed? But listen, you will not even get a diploma because you are going to get married before you do so.” His words made me very upset, so I told him if this life I’m going to live is his then it will be as he says. I have worked hard in school since I got here, making sure that I learn and do well in school as well as passing all my classes. Now there are about 2.5 months until I finish high school. I will graduate from Sanderson high school and go to college for higher education, where that teacher will be proven wrong and where I will be able to fulfill my dreams.
Thank you to those who donated and help make ERC's scholarships possible.
If you are interested in donating to ERC, click the link below to our donation page.
If you are interested in donating to ERC, click the link below to our donation page.
If you are interested in applying for a scholarship, click the link below to our scholarship page.
